Herb Epp was ‘strong-willed’ champion for Waterloo

Herb Epp

Record file photo

Former Waterloo mayor and MPP Herb Epp died Monday. This photo was taken in 2006.

Epp business

Peter Lee/Record file photo

Then Waterloo Mayor Herb Epp (at podium) and Minister of Small Business and Entrepreneurship Harinder Takhar officially open the Waterloo Region Small Business Enterprise Centre Waterloo satellite office in 2006.

Epp child

Record file photo

Then Waterloo mayor Herb Epp welcomed Cassie Courtney, 4, to the city's annual New Years Day levee at the Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex in 2005.

Mayor 2003

Mathew McCarthy/Record file photo

Waterloo Mayor-elect Herb Epp smiles with his wife Jane at his campaign headquarters after making his acceptance speech in 2003.

Mayor Epp

Record file photo

/then Waterloo mayor Herb Epp gestures while responding to questions after announcing the termination of Bob Robertson as the city's chief administrative officer in 2004.

Tributes poured in Tuesday from politicians who recalled Epp’s long career in municipal and provincial politics, his energy and his community contributions.

David Epp described his father as sincere and proud, noble in his pursuits, and so very excited to see his beloved Blue Jays prepare for what might be their best season in decades. He lived a modest lifestyle despite his prominence.

“He’s a glass half-full person, an eternal optimist,” David said. “He didn’t grow up here in Waterloo but he loved it. He made it his home.”

Epp cherished being recognized among the top 100 graduatesof Wilfrid Laurier University, David said. His latest passion was for the Canadian Landmine Foundation, which raises funds and awareness to end the suffering caused by landmines.

“I think he was just maybe touched by some of the victims,” David said.

Donations to the landmine charity are welcomed in Epp’s memory.

Herb Epp was first elected to Waterloo city council in 1968. He later served three terms as mayor and four terms in provincial politics as Liberal MPP for the former riding of Waterloo North.

In 1990, he left provincial politics to work in real estate but returned to municipal politics in 2003 for a final term as mayor. Halloran unseated Epp in 2006.

Regional councillors held a moment of silence Tuesday to honour him.

“Herb was much too young and left us much too soon,” Kitchener Coun. Jim Wideman said.

Regional Chair Ken Seiling said Epp was always active at regional council, did not shy away from expressing his opinion, and always took the regional view on issues.

“He had his finger on the pulse of things,” Seiling said. “He was a great supporter of moving the community ahead.”

Born in Winnipeg, Epp moved to Niagara-on-the-Lake with his family when he was a child.

He once explained he got his interest in politics from his father, a carpenter who read voraciously and took his son to political meetings. He attributed his entrepreneurial spirit to his mother, who raised six boys, worked in a factory and did laundry to help make ends meet.

After high school, Epp earned a degree from Waterloo Lutheran University and a graduate degree in education from the University of Toronto. He married Jane Snider in Waterloo and they raised three children. Epp worked as a teacher and guidance counsellor for 15 years.

“He was a pretty strong-willed guy and a very passionate defender of Waterloo and certainly a very committed public servant,” said former Waterloo councillor Ian McLean, president of the Greater Kitchener Waterloo Chamber of Commerce.

McLean recalls watching Epp sprint up the stairs at city hall in his final term as mayor while others much younger rode the elevator. “He was always full of energy and vigour.”

Catherine Fife, the New Democrat MPP for Kitchener-Waterloo, spoke to Epp after she won last year’s byelection. He offered her assistance and advice.

Fife said it was clear from the conversation how much he loved the community and how proud he was of Kitchener-Waterloo.

Visitation is Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Erb and Good Funeral Home, 171 King St. S. in Waterloo as well as Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.

I am saddened to hear of the passing of Herb Epp. He was a proud and passionate voice for the people of Kitchener-Waterloo and his service as an elected representative did much to improve his community and his province.

As a teacher and guidance counsellor, a member of the Ontario legislature and a three-term mayor of Waterloo, he dedicated himself to the betterment of people’s lives. He was an important advocate for young people and contributed greatly to the development of his community.

My thoughts are with his family and his community. He will be deeply missed, both within Kitchener-Waterloo and across Ontario.